Alexander wink grant



A. W. GRANT.

' MOP.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-29,1919

Patented May 11, 1920.

UNITED snares Parana ornion.

ALEXANDER WINK GRANT, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

Application filed January 29, 1919.

1 b all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALEXANDER \VINK GRANT, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of the city of Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mops, and do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of same.

This invention relates to mop cloths employed for mopping and dusting purposes, such cloths being adapted to be secured to and held fiat upon a frame provided with a handle by means of which the mop is manipulated, and has for its object to improve the make up of the cloth by providing means to hold same in a flat condition when in use, thus insuring the maximum of efliciency.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the accompanying claims.

For full comprehension however of my invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification in which similar reference characters indicate the same parts and wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view partly in section of a mop with my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of the end stiffener members partly in section;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken on line 2-2 Fig. 1; and

Figs. and 5 are detail plan views of modified forms of end stiffener members.

Fig. 6 is an end view of the stiffener memoer shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a view partly in section showing the approximate form of the mop when being wrung, the lengths of string forming the mopping surface being omitted.

As will be seen from the drawings the mop is shown as of rectangular form and consists of a fabric material foundation 2 having short lengths of string 3 arranged in spaced groups stitched upon the underside by tapes extending the full length of the mop, the fabric being stretched upon a frame 5 having a handle 6 for manipulating purposes.

I have found that, under certain condi tions of use, the side edges of the mop are liable to curl or wrinkle, thus spoiling the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented llla'y 11, 1920.

Serial No. 273,893.

flat condition of the mop so essential to its efficiency, and to avoid this I provide transverse stiffening members which for convenience in their application are placed within fabric coverings 10 which may be closed at their outside ends by the side seams 11 of the mop, and attached by stitching to the mop foundation. v

While the stiffening members may extend completely across the mop fabric, I find it more satisfactory to use two short lengths 12 and 12 placed end to end with a space between thus providing a breaking point in the center, such strips being located to one side of the longitudinal center of the cloth so that the wringing or squeezing of the mop will not be interfered with. Such stiffening members be of any suitable material possessing the requisite resiliency and lightness, but I have found that flat strips of spring steel coated with aluminum which renders them non-corrosive, answers the purpose very well.

By this arrangement the effective wringing or squeezing out of water from the mop not interfered with, as the breaking point of the strips in the center permits the latter, when hanging loosely on the frame, being doubled over longitudinally (as shown in Fig. 7) and the free end held in the hand, or gripped in the jaws of any suitable wringing machine, and wrung with the usual twisting motion.

In small-sized mops a single two-piece strip extending across the foundation will be sufficient, but in larger mops, it might benecessary to provide two ormore twopiece strips, the number of strips to be used depending upon the size of the mop, and whether a single two-piece strip or a number of two-piece strips are used such will always be placed a little to one side of the center of the cloth so that the strips will not interfere with the squeezing of the mop in a squeezing machine.

Each end of the mop cloth, in addition to the parts which connect with the frame, is provided with a stiffening member of any suitable material, althoughin the smaller size or household mop, I prefer to use two pieces or strips of wood 13 and 14, placed end to end to afford a breaking point in the center of the mop, the outer ends of the strips being cushioned with a short strip in of, lamp wick and the foundation of the I lamp wick or heavy canv mop fabric being hemmed over to envelop the stiffening members, the ends of the hemmed over parts of the foundation serving as a buffer between the ends of the stiffening members and any objects with which the sides of the mop may come in contact when in use. This is the form of end stiffening I prefer to use because the breaking point in the center facilitates the wringing of the mop, but other forms of end stiffening elements may be used without departing from the spirit of my invention, provided the mop is retained, when in use, in a flat though pliant position; for instance, in the small sized mop a metallic tube-like member 15 may be used having inwardly turned teeth or serrations 16 on each of its ends to engage and hold short lengths of rope 17 or in the larger sized mops a metal rod 18 could be used covered over with a suitable padding material 19 such as i, but whatever form the end stiffeners might take, such Would in all cases be covered by hemming thereover the ends of the foundation fabric.

At each end of the cloth I provide a tab 20 of suitable material connected at each of its ends to the cloth by stitching, one end being stitched on the top and the other to the bottom of the fP ilt ion, such tab cowering the padded eiaiu 'ener and pro Viding a loop or tube like opening through which a cotter pin 21. or other medium may be inserted to connect the cloth to the frame.

WVhat I claim is as follows:

1. A mop having a flat fabric foundation of oblong shape and or a character to permit wringing thereof provided. with a stifffening element of strip form disposed transversely of the formulation at a point approximately centrally between its ends, such stiffening element adapted to prevent curling up of the mop without interfering with the wringing thereof.

2. A mop l aving a Hat fabric founda tion of oblong shape and of a character to permit wringing thereof provided with. a stiffening element formed of two lengths of material. arranged end to end. trans versely of the foundation intermediate of its ends and at a point nearer one end than. the other end thereof, such stiffening element adapted to pr ut curling up of the mop without intei 'ering with the wringing of same.

A mop having a flat fabric foundation hemmed at its ends, a transversely disposed. stiffening element formed of strips of metal positioned end to end and secured to such fabric foundation intermediate of its ends to prevent curling up of the mop without interfering with the wringing of same, and transverse stiffening members inclosed in the hemmed ends of the fabric.

4:. A mop having a flat fabric foundzn tion hemmed at its ends, a transversely disposed stiffening element formed of a plurality of non-corrosive strips of metal having fabric coverings and placed. end to end to substantially span the width of the fabric intermediate of its ends, said fabric coverings being stitched to the upper side of the foundation, and transverse end stiffening members laid end to end and inclosed within each of the hemmed ends of the fabric, the ends of such end stiffening members being cushioned by the side edges of the fabric.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of a subscribing witness.

ALEX. \VINK (:lRr-XN'JT.

Witness FRED J. GEAN. 

